To think train prices are crazy? Just spent eye watering sum London to Edinburgh

[AbsentmindedWoman]

Almost £200 for two adults return. We are going next week, so it is fairly last minute, plus I know it's a lengthy journey, but woah.

Train prices seem pretty haphazard to me depending on the line.

Before the railways were privatised, were prices a lot better and more consistent?

And Gatwick is much handier for some of us than central london train stations are, plus lack of security isn't worth 80 to 90 quid.

People in the London area for whom Gatwick is more convenient than King's Cross is more convenient are a somewhat select band. Plus it's a matter of simple logistics; there aren't enough £9.99 tickets around or enough flights to Edinburgh to make it a genuine choice for everyone.

I am sorry for crediting you with enough intelligence to know that to compare two fares to one fare you had to simply double the one fare. Or halve the fares. You are quite correct that I should have explained to you how to do the calculation in my first post and not assumed you could do that for yourself.

Ooo did we get out of the wrong side of bed this morning? Or do you just not like that I pointed out your comparison was incorrect?

I also assumed you could work out that some people live closer to airports and some people live closer to train stations, and that the costs to the airport were unlikely to be 9 times the cost of the flight anyway.

Fully aware. However when comparing the cost of a train journey from London kings cross to Edinburgh Waverley with the cost of a flight you have to assume the same start and end point to make the comparison work.

better

100% better that I am not a snide cow with a condescending tone attempting put downs.

Thanks for you help

Ooo did we get out of the wrong side of bed this morning? Or do you just not like that I pointed out your comparison was incorrect

My comparison was not incorrect. OP said 200 for 2 was expensive. I said 9.99 for one was cheap. It does not need to be stated except to very stupid people that to compare them, you must double the for one fare. It is implied. Everyone but you could see that.

Just paid 12 Euros each for five of us to travel just under three hours by train in Italy - tickets bought just before travelling.

There are times when I, or the family, might opt to travel by train in the UK, rather than drive, but am put of by the expense of it or the inflexibility of booking ahead.

@NewtScamandersNaughtyNiffler if you’re travelling with children virgin trains have a family ticket that might be cheaper
www.virgintrains.co.uk/family-offer
But you have to go in and out of Euston

Uk most expensive and one of the shittest rail networks in Europe with only eastern Europe nation networks being worse.

You can get from paris to marhecle on the med sea for €45 which is much further the london to Edinburgh.

(Sorry for really bad spelling i am dyslexic D'H borrowed my laptop with the dyslexia spell checker)

@madamginger thank you. I'll have a look at that . So far flying is coming out cheapest and the DC have never flown so would be a treat for them! Need to look at car hire prices too.

It does not need to be stated except to very stupid people that to compare them, you must double the for one fare. It is implied. Everyone but you could see that.

It's quite handy how everyone but you can see how horrible you are

I think that's quite good value!

DH and I recently went to Edinburgh from Leeds and it was £124 return each

That's cheap. I take the east coast mainline frequently for work, Newcastle to London peak time on the day is nearly £300

It's quite handy how everyone but you can see how horrible you are grin

She's kind of horrible but she is also right. It was really obvious!

Bloody hell I KNOW it was obvious. The point in case was not just about the cost being for 1 person versus 2, it was also about the start and end locations. The cost thing was just a small part of what needed to be considered a make a fair comparison.

If you knew it was obvious why did you have a go at the other person for not saying it? You were pretty rude about it?

Another vote for "that's pretty reasonable" . I pay nearly £30 for a day return to London and it takes 35 minutes.

If you knew it was obvious why did you have a go at the other person for not saying it? You were pretty rude about it?

Well I wasn't, certainly not initially.

If you take the whole exchange in context you will see that I wasn't being rude until it was given to me and that also the cost was only a small part of what i was saying.

The actual price is irrelevant, comparisons need to be equal to be valid.